P3 Justice Client Involvement Day
P3's first Justice Client Involvement Day saw P3 Operations Manager for Justice Services Jennifer Kralj and P3 Client Involvement Co-ordinator Josh Jones meet with six clients from their Hampshire-based service.
The day commenced with clients sharing their impressions of the service they'd received from P3. Many described the turmoil of their lives and how the support services they had previously tried to access had worked against them. There was a general agreement that everyone present had had multiple negative service experiences in the past.
However, P3 is the exception to this rule, as one client stated: “I thought P3 was just another con. I've spent years in the system where you're just treated like a sheep and no one reads your file or has the time to see you as an individual. I wasn't a bad criminal, I just needed help.
“P3 is a miracle! My link worker listened to me, my worries and anxieties. He got me a GP referral and helped me to sort out and access my bank account. I now know that I have ADHD – I can understand what triggers my behaviour – and I have a bank account for the first time in four years."
In the words of another client: “My link worker provides the motivation and structure in my life. With P3 it's about me, I'm not just a number. Their first words to me were: 'What can I do for you?' No one had ever done that before.”
The group discussed their experiences with P3, gaps in service provision, how their support was structured, communication and shared their anxieties about what happens after their probation order ends. All this feedback was recorded and will be used to continue to shape and refine our work in this area.
Clients also expressed their interest in other client involvement opportunities at P3 such as being trained as a P3 mystery shopper, assisting with recruitment for future link workers and simply keeping in touch.
As one client stated: “I trust my P3 worker one hundred billion per cent. Being with P3 has massively reduced the likelihood of me reoffending. Knowing someone is caring like that, it's not just brilliant it's been life changing for me.”
The event closed with pizza and clients agreeing that it had been really worthwhile, positive experience.
